Beverage holder



July 7,1959 RW TH ETAL 2,893,675

BEVERAGE HOLDER Filed Aug. '27; 1956 INVENTOR. P0522711! SMITH BYMERRILL B. Wacox drTakA/EXS United States Patent axes-s75 HOLDER- q e iM n n Merrill B. Wilcox,

apolis, Minnt, assignoi's: to Aladdin Manufactm-lng Company,Minneapolis, Minn., a c p ration ofr Minnesota pp a o gu t. 21,. 956,,Sria co an- 4 Claims. (61.248 292.23).

on bodies, suchas boats, planes, trains, automotive vehicles, etc.,while in-mot-ion.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification,

l ig. l is a front elevationalview of a beverageholder made. accordingto the invention as when applied to use;

Fig; 2 is an enlarged sideelevationah view of beverage holder as itwould appear from the left in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the beverage holder;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, taken on line 44 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, taken as on line ss in Fig. 4.

A hanger unit 10 of the device is constituted as a single piece of rigidmaterial, desirably metal, bent or formed to general U-shape. A base 11of the U-shape hanger unit is integral with spaced, substantiallyparallel, first and second hanger elements, denoted 12 and 13,respectively, which extend downwardly from said base.

The first hanger element 12 is offset, as at 14, forwardly of the hangerunit, and also bifurcated to provide divergent wings, each represented15. Upper portions of interior marginal edges of the wings 15 and amarginal edge of the first hanger element between upper ends of saidupper portions together provide a bearing constituted as a downwardlyfacing, part-circular seat 16 of not more than 180 degrees andaccessible from its lower side. The wings 15 of the first hanger elementinclude apertures for receiving means, such as screws 17, for detachablysecuring the hanger unit upon a support for the beverage holder.

An end portion of the base 11 of the hanger unit 10, opposite the firsthanger element 12, and an upper portion of the second hanger element 13curve generally forwardly of the device and downwardly and are cut awayto provide an opening through said base and second hanger element. Anenlarged upper portion 18 of said opening is contiguous with a lowerportion 19 thereof of reduced size bounded at its lower and oppositesides by interior marginal edges of the second hanger element whichprovide a bearing constituted as an upwardly facing, part-circular seat20 of not more than 180 degrees and accessible from its upper side.

In the drawing, the hanger unit 10 is disclosed as when removablysecured upon a boat with the first and second hanger elements of saidhanger unit in upright position. The part-circular seats 16 and 20 ofsaid first and second hanger elements, respectively, are in a verticalplane passed through said hanger unit in perpendicular rela tion to saidboat, said part-circular seats are in spaced,

alined relation, and: the circular portions thereof are of equaldiameter.

A frame of the device is constituted as: a yokecomposed as a basemember- 21 and arcuate arms: 22 in: the plane of and extending outwardlyfrom said" base memher. at one side thereof. The arcuate. arms. 22 areof equal. length and lie ina single. plane. The. base. member 21 isrigidly supported, as at 23, by a shaft: 24 which is; in the horizontalplane of the frame or yoke at the side thereof opposite: the arcuatearms. 22-, as. well as; in a plane passed vertically and centrallythrough said frame or; yoke. That is, the shaft 241 is equi-distantlyspaced from the arcuatearms 22'.

The shaft 24: is rotatably mounted in a: bushing or tubularelement 25,andthe bushing or tubular element is rotatably supported; upon and. bythe. hangerunit- 10. Anannular-flange: 26 upon. the, end of the. shaft24: spaced from the base member 21 of the. frame or yoke lies. in aconcavity 27, provided by offsetting the first hanger elementof the.hanger unit, in engaged relation to: said first hanger element, and saidannular flange. retains: said frame or yoke base'member incontiguousrelation with an adjacent surface of the second hanger element 13.

External surfaces of opposite end portions of the bushing or tubularelement 25', snugly mounted on said shaft 24', are of the. same diameteras and; rotatively eng ged withthe part-circular seats 16. and: 20,.respectively. The

bushing or tubular element 25 spans the distance. between the annularflange 26 and an adjacent end surface of the base member 21 of the frameor yoke, and the weight of said frame or yoke, with appurtenances,causes a rearward end portion of said bushing or tubular element to havetendency toward tilting upwardly, about the upwardly facing,part-circular seat 20 as a fulcrum, always to be engaged against thedownwardly facing, part-circular seat 16, as well as causes a forwardend portion of the bushing or tubular element to be engaged by gravityagainst said upwardly facing, part-circular seat 20.

A retainer of the device, for receiving glasses, bottles, cups, etc., isconstituted as a basket consisting of first and second U-shaped members,denoted 28 and 29, respectively, in perpendicular relation to eachother, encircled by vertically spaced, circular elements 30. Horizontalbases of the U-shape members 28 and 29, engaged with each other at thevertical center of the retainer or basket, are of equal length and legsof the U-shape members extend vertically upward in equally spaced relation, at degrees apart as shown. The legs of the U-shape member 28extend to position above the upper ends of the legs of the U-shapemember 29, and upper end portions of the legs of said U-shape member 28,bent outwardly, as at 31, are rotatably mounted, as at 32, in endportions of the arcuate arms 22' spaced from the base member 21 of theframe or yoke. The outwardly bent end portions 31 are horizontallydisposed and in equally spaced relation to said base member, as well asin perpendicular relation to the shaft 24.

Jarring, tilting or rocking movement, caused by shock or otherwise, of abody upon which the beverage holder is supported will be absorbed byrotative movement of the frame or yoke relative to the hanger unit 10and/or by rotative movement of the retainer or basket relative to saidframe or yoke. Normally, the shaft 24 will be rotated in the bushing ortubular element 25 when the frame or yoke is rotated relative to thehanger unit. If in some instance or other said shaft were to fail torotate in said bushing or tubular element when the frame or yoke wasrotated, the bushing or tubular element itself would rotate on thepart-circular seats 16 and 20 of the hanger unit.

lel relation, said first hanger element being cut away to provide afirst opening bounded at its opposite sides by -a pair of wings of thefirst hanger element for attachment of the hanger unit to a supporttherefor, upper portions of interior marginal edges of said wings and amarginal edge of the first hanger element between upper ends of saidupper portions together providing a downwardly facing seat, an upperportion of said second 'hanger element being cut away to provide asecond opening contiguous with a lower portion of the second hangerelement bounded at its lower and opposite sides by interior marginaledges of said second hanger element pro- :viding an upwardly facingseat, the circumferences of said downwardly and upwardly facing seatsbeing in alined relation, a shaft extending through said first andsecond openings in said first and second hanger elements inperpendicular relation thereto and rotatably mounted on the downwardlyand upwardly facing seats, a frame fixed on said shaft at a side of thesecond hanger element opposite the first hanger element, and means onsaid shaft ,engageable against a surface of said first hanger elementopposite said second hanger element to maintain said frame in adjacentrelation to a surface of the second hanger element opposite the firsthanger element when said shaft is mounted on said downwardly andupwardly facing seats.

2. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said first hangerelement is oflset in direction toward said second hanger element andsaid means engageable against a surface of the first hanger elementopposite the second hanger element to maintain the frame in adjacentrelation to a surface of said second hanger element opposite said firsthanger element is situated in a concavity of the hanger unit provided byoffsetting of the first hanger element.

3. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said second openingis of dimension above said upwardly facing seat and said first openingis of dimension below said downwardly facing seat to permit passagetherethrough'of said shaft and the means thereon.

4. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said shaft isrotatably mounted in a tubular element itself rotatably mounted on saiddownwardly and upwardly facing seats.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS283,959 Bowyer Aug. 28, 1883 394,252 Davis Dec. 11, 1888 743,758Schrader Nov. 10, 1903 1,043,622 Miles Nov. 5, 1912 1,496,739 RansonJune 3, 1924 1,563,137 Amsler Nov. 24, 1925 2,351,531 McLean June 13,1944 2,451,923 Cox et a1. Oct. 19, 1948 2,484,427 Schwenk Oct. 11, 19492,520,412 Jensen Aug. 24, 1950

